The moment Claude finished speaking, his figure flashed again, vanishing abruptly.
Bai Ye was not to be outdone; with a shift of his shoulder, he disappeared from his original position.
The next instant, both had vanished completely. Only afterimages continued to appear throughout the coffee shop, while surrounding objects exploded one after another.
Glass jars on the counter shattered one by one, spilling coffee beans. Tables and chairs nearby let out loud bangs before being ripped apart.
Suddenly…
*Boom!*
After a deafening roar, countless cracks appeared on the ceiling. Immediately after, a massive crystal chandelier fell, crashing onto the ground and shattering instantly.
In about two to three minutes, the coffee shop was a mess. A large section of the ceiling had collapsed, leaving hardly any space to stand. Following this, Bai Ye and Claude appeared at the coffee shop's entrance.
They exchanged glances again, and then…
*Bang!*
Bai Ye stomped his foot, launched himself forward, and swept a kick towards Claude.
Claude grunted, "Tekkai!"
Claude's skin turned black and incredibly hard. Bai Ye's kick landed as if he had struck a block of iron.
"Are you only capable of Soru?" Claude sneered. "It seems you truly aren't from my world. CP9 learns all Six Powers. Other Marines, to train their bodies, also practice them to a certain extent. Though most don't master all Six Powers, they at least learn three to four!"
As Claude spoke, he suddenly lifted his leg.
"Rankyaku!"
Bai Ye rapidly dodged backward, but what surprised him was that Claude's attack wasn't a normal kick. As the leg swung out, it stirred the surrounding air, forming a wind blade that shot towards Bai Ye.
However, Claude's aim seemed a bit off. The wind blade missed Bai Ye, grazing past him and striking the wall to the side.
*Rumble!*
The wall instantly shattered and collapsed.
Initially, Bai Ye and Claude's battle hadn't drawn much attention or panic. At most, passersby would consciously make way and distance themselves from the two.
In the law-abiding "City of Sin," gunfights were a daily occurrence. What was a street brawl?
But as Claude kicked through the wall, the surrounding pedestrians realized something was wrong. They couldn't help but scream and scatter.
They finally understood this was no ordinary fight; people could die. That kick was more terrifying than any gunfight.
At the same time…
Seeing his Rankyaku miss, Claude suddenly reached forward.
"Stardust Bullet!"
This wasn't an ability Claude brought from his world, but one he obtained on the World Battlefield, magic from a magic zone!
In an instant, countless starry lights, like stardust, appeared before Claude's palm. As Claude pressed his hand forward, the silvery-white radiance transformed into silver-white orbs, each the size of a fist, flying towards Bai Ye.
Bai Ye immediately used Soru again, running rapidly to the side.
*Boom, boom, boom…*
The Stardust Bullets continuously hit the ground or surrounding buildings, emitting deafening roars, shattering the ground, and collapsing walls.
As he ran, Bai Ye glanced at Claude. It seemed the man was extremely angry.
Although Claude's words were very calm, Bai Ye could tell this guy genuinely wanted revenge for the three individuals he had eliminated.
As a chosen one from the order faction, Claude shouldn't be fighting so recklessly.
Because…
It would endanger innocents!
The pedestrians on the street were fine; they had already fled. However, people were hiding inside the surrounding buildings, yet Claude attacked without regard, not worrying about harming them!
This indicated Claude's attitude: as long as he could kill Bai Ye, nothing else mattered.
He didn't care about losing order points, nor about the punishment for accumulating too many evil deeds.
Bai Ye sighed, suddenly stopped running, raised his fist, and turned to unleash a blow!
"Feng Yan!"
As Bai Ye punched, scorching flames instantly wreathed his arm. Then, with his punch, a pillar of fire surged forward, colliding with the Stardust Bullets.
*Boom, boom, boom!*
The next instant, a tremendous explosion occurred as the attacks met.
The pillar of fire swallowed the Stardust Bullets, but the Stardust Bullets exploded within the flames, also shattering the fire pillar.
Bai Ye stopped dodging and drew his famed sword, Shi Xue, charging towards Claude.
Direct confrontation!
Claude didn't care about order points, but Bai Ye did!
After eliminating these individuals, those order points would be converted into sin points for him in a certain proportion. How could he let the other party waste them like this!
On the other side, seeing Bai Ye draw his sword, Claude also took out a pair of bronze metal gauntlets and put them on.
Qing Gang Quan!
The moment Bai Ye reached him, Claude decisively threw a punch!
Qing Gang Quan collided with the famed sword Shi Xue, emitting a crisp ringing sound. Following this, Claude swept another kick towards Bai Ye.
"Rankyaku!"
Bai Ye didn't retreat. Instead, he flicked his finger. The Ning Shuang sword hanging behind him was drawn from its sheath, falling into Bai Ye's hand. He then slashed forward, shattering the incoming wind blade and continuing his downward strike towards Claude.
"Tekkai!"
Claude grunted, his entire body turning black again as he entered the Tekkai state.
Ning Shuang sword struck Claude's body, emitting a clear clang and even sparking golden sparks, yet it didn't harm Claude in the slightest.
Claude let out a triumphant laugh, but…
It only lasted for a moment. Claude's smile vanished.
Purple venom seeped from Bai Ye's face. Then, Bai Ye shook his head violently, flinging the venom onto Claude's face.
"Ugh…"
Claude grunted, then clutched his face and quickly retreated. He then looked at his palm, which was emitting white smoke. Even in the Tekkai state, the corrosive venom was still eroding Claude's body.
"Doku Doku no Mi?" Claude took a deep breath. "You're a Devil Fruit user too!"
"Is that something strange?" Bai Ye asked. "On the World Battlefield, you can find anything from your world."
"Makes sense!"
Claude stretched out his arm, took off his jacket, and tossed it aside, revealing a well-defined, muscular physique.
Claude's expression had clearly become more serious.
Because Claude knew the immense power of the Doku Doku no Mi!
He had even witnessed the terror of the Doku Doku no Mi before!
…